Baglietto, here are the numbers and new plans for Gavio’s yachts

We are in Portofino, aboard the T52, Baglietto’s new 52-metre steel and aluminum yacht. It’s raining, we stand close to the window of the upper deck saloon, which can disappear completely thanks to a folding closure. Around us, wood, leather, steel finishes, light colors. With Diego Michele Deprati, the shipyard’s managing director, we talk about the group’s numbers and plans, but also about new ideas. “Our wealth is the young”, he tells me, anticipating what he has in mind with the Academy which will be called Officina Baglietto.

There was time to talk about the passion for boats of the reference shareholder, Beniamino Gavio, a common passion, and here the entrepreneur appears on the quay. “I came for a walk,” he says. He too contributed, in terms of design, to the birth of this boat. Owner, he started with a Cerri and now has a 44-metre Baglietto, he bet on his passion and now – as the CEO says – “he also sees a return in financial terms”.

A long-time manager

Deprati’s is a good story. He is an officer in the Navy, participates in peace missions, wants to become a pilot of planes with stars, but his dream fades by a whisker. He takes his leave and works at the Mondo Spa in Gallo d’Alba of the Stroppiana brothers, Edo and Ferruccio, the multinational sports flooring company. He is a technical officer, he deals with projects for the construction of yachts in composite material and metal. Ten years later, he follows the development of the shipyard that the Stroppianas open in Savona, his hometown, which sees him build, for example, Tribù, Luciano Benetton’s yacht. Then, the generational transition changes things: the children of the two founders of Mondomarine are not interested in boating, they sell to Alessandro Falciai from Livorno, who will not have calm seas. In the meantime, Deprati moved to Cerri, the historic brand that sees Gavio’s debut in the nautical sector, and then to Baglietto, also acquired by the latter. A historic brand, today over one hundred years old (170), born in Varazze. “I’m from Savona, for me the Gabbiano brand has always been something great”.

The moment is propitious

Let’s look at the present. The moment is good for boating and for the Made in Italy of the sea. And Baglietto’s numbers also confirm it. “We have an order book that reaches 2026 and for a value of 360 million euros, also including the Baglietto Navy and Bertram division (another historic brand acquired by Gavio, ed). The turnover is 100 million a yearor”. Deprati is optimistic. “We expect to grow by another 20%-30% between 2023 and 2024”.

The boat previewed at Portofino, the 52 T, is a displacement motoryacht of 497 tonnes, 52 meters long, with eleven berths, divided into a master cabin, two guest cabins with double bed, two further cabins each with a pair of single beds, plus a cabin with a single bed on the upper deck, the one on the bridge, dominated by three large screens to aid navigation. Then there are the crew cabins.

steel and aluminum, the external lines by Francesco Paszkowski Design, the interiors by the latter with Margherita Casprini, the boat is built in La Spezia and was delivered last February. “We have four more under construction with delivery in 2024, three planned for 2025 and then two orders for 2026,” says Deprati.

The shipyard’s vision is to consolidate the model, “which is being liked”, and to raise the bar in terms of size and tonnage (over 500) with the first 60 meters still in steel and aluminum under construction, which would go to 2026 , and two more in order, always planned in La Spezia. Then there is the Dom line, a 40-metre aluminum yacht, which sees two models being delivered in 2024, one in January 2025 and two more in 2025. And which will be enriched by an entry level of 115 feet. The latter range was born at the group’s Carrara yards, as well as a large part of the Bertram range – 30, 39, 51, 60 feet – “while we build the 28′ in Tampa”, continues Baglietto’s CEO. Let’s say, to understand, that the inboard models are in Italy and the outboard ones in America. “We have just presented the 35′, we have four more on order”.

Then there are the custom fasts – a 42-metre also designed by Paszkowski has already been delivered, a 44m is under construction – and superfasts, boats that are part of the brand’s DNA and which represent around 10% of production.

Cerri and Baglietto Navy

“The Cerri brand is frozen for now”, Deprati tells me. Which does not mean buried, on the contrary. But obviously he doesn’t want to tell me. As for Baglietto Navy, the military division, Depreti tells me that it will already benefit from new investments this year. “We have delivered the first combat boats, 15-metre multi-purpose units which are destined for the San Marco Battalion and will be embarked on the flagship, the Trieste ship. There are expressions of interest from Oman, Germany and South America”. In the latter country, there is also a river use for the fight against narcos.

The near future

The T 52 is hybrid. “The range in diesel-electric mode can reach up to 7,600 nm with the possibility of mooring at anchor for up to 10h with the support of batteries only. The two MTU 16V2000M86 engines then allow the boat to reach a maximum speed of 17 knots and a range of 3,600 nm in traditional mode”. But without taking anything away from the boat we’re on, I talk to Depetri about tomorrow. Which for Baglietto is hydrogen. “We have built a prototype in the factory of a hydrogen system that feeds on sea water”. Sea water? “Yes, sea water is taken, it purifies it and separates the oxygen, which is released into the atmosphere, and retains the hydrogen, which is stored at low pressure, about 10-15 atmospheres, and which is then used for fuel the fuel cells and generate the necessary electrical energy”.

Just to understand. The hybrid now ensures about one night of energy for on-board services with the boat at anchor, and almost 4 hours underway at 7-8 knots. “With hydrogen we plan to reach three nights of autonomy and 12 hours of navigation”, Deprati explains to me again. For whom the era of total hydrogen, on large yachts, “will not come before 10-15 years”. Which doesn’t mean it won’t be there sooner. “You go step by step and acquire competence. The different systems can coexist”. That is to say the endothermic, the electric and even the hydrogen.

The future, again

Let’s talk again about the idea of ​​Officina Baglietto. It is an Academy that will be set up in Sarzana, supported by the group together with other realities, which will be open to young people, not necessarily graduates. Four sections: nautical, fashion, furniture, jewels. “It won’t be paid for,” the manager points out. “Today there is still too much distance between the world of school and that of work. There are very promising young people who obviously lack experience. And this is where Officina Baglietto comes into play. Young people are our future, we have to help them”. Depetri also tells me that this is one of his intentions before ending his career. A beautiful vision.